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Water For People + Kristof C-19 Impact initiative

New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof has launched the C-19 Impact Initiative to highlight organizations like Water For People, who are fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to encourage you to support this life-saving work. Read the article.

Now, more than ever, access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation is essential to protecting human health, and we are grateful to be recognized for our work bringing sustainable water and sanitation systems to communities around the globe.

50%

39%

1 IN 6

healthcare facilities have no handwashing stations or sinks. This means nowhere for staff or patients to clean their hands.

3 BILLION

people lack basic handwashing facilities at home

our response to COVID-19

Handwashing is a community's first defense against the COVID-19 virus. But, 50% of health clinics globally don't have piped water, and 39% don't have access to soap. That's where Water For People comes in. We construct water systems and ensure clinics, schools, and other public institutions have safe, reliable water to keep their communities safe.

Investing in Water For People Ensures Emergency Preparedness Now and in the Future

It costs Water For People approximately $10,000 to ensure access to safe, reliable water and to provide hygiene education for one health clinic. Included in this cost are things like pipes, taps, local labor to construct the systems, and the assurance of sustainability. In 2020, we have identified and are working to reach 273 health clinics and other public institutions in nine countries across Africa, Latin America, and India. Your investment helps ensure clinics and public facilities are better-equipped to contain the spread of COVID-19 in some of the world's most vulnerable communities.

Everyone Deserves Water That Lasts Forever

Water For People believes in a world where everyone has safe water and sanitation that lasts forever. We believe in it so much, we've named our impact model Everyone Forever.

Everyone means every family, health clinic, and school. Forever means water and sanitation systems are sustainable and will last for generations. It sounds simple, but it’s actually a big shift in the status quo. In most water and sanitation work, the focus is on short-term wins – building a few wells or toilets without considering how they will keep serving people long into the future.

We used to operate that way, until we realized it wasn’t working. When pumps and toilets broke, no one could fix them. This left communities back where they started. So in 2011, we conceptualized the Everyone Forever model. We partner with local governments, businesses, and individuals, providing the support they need to bring clean water and sanitation systems to their own communities. Then we ensure they have the resources they need to maintain those systems now and in the future. The local government provides the structure. The local shop owner provides the materials. The local entrepreneur makes repairs. And the local family gets clean water for a lifetime.

Learn more about Everyone Forever through the eyes of the people who help make it possible:

Water Gives Health

Priscilla works at a health center in Kamwenge District, Uganda. She is the nurse in charge of the clinic and is responsible for ensuring any community members who need health services can receive them. When Priscilla started working at the clinic, there was no access to reliable and safe water, which made caring for patients very challenging.

The Town of Thagoni

Está muy lejos, they tell us. Thagoni is very far.

Thagoni is so far away, so deep in the mountains, and so spread out that national programs for water access never would have reached it. Just the cost to get a rig up there to drill a well would be prohibitive.

Students are Part of the Solution

Both Maribel and David are dreaming of going to university next year – Maribel wants to be a nurse or social worker, and David plans to study mechanics. One of the reasons they are able to dream about heading off to university is because they go to a school that has safe water and sanitation. They never had to miss school due to fetching water or being sick from water-borne diseases.

Maureen the Hand Pump Mechanic

On any given day, as she sees her kids off to school or prepares food for her family, Maureen could get a call from a community in her region. She’d drop everything in that moment, grab her tools, and head off on her bicycle.

Don Ángel: Protecting a District’s Water

Don Ángel went from being a zoologist who worked with livestock to leading the water and sanitation office in the province of Gran Chimu de Cascas in Peru.

Highest possible Charity Navigator Rating

Water For People has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 16 consecutive years. This distinction places our organization in the top 1% of all charities.

We’re proud that our commitment to transparency and responsibility has earned us this designation. We couldn’t do this work without the support of so many who believe in our mission and have joined us on this journey to bring water to Everyone Forever.

But wait...there's more!

Well, hello, New York Times reader. Of course we expected you to reach the bottom of our page - you love to read!